Donatos uses AI Panels to add a grilled-chicken salad and shape its high-protein menu
- Days, not weeks
- 20 questions answered by 1,000 consumers in a Tastewise AI Panel
- A new grilled-chicken salad
- built for the high-protein consumer the panel identified
- House-made ranch, full media launch
- marketing leaned into the ‘fresh’ angle that consumer findings surfaced
“It gave us a lot more texture to work with from a marketing standpoint, and we’re really looking forward to curating our existing menu items to support our customers' needs.”
Nicole ScharlachExecutive Director of Marketing, Donatos
- Industry
- Restaurants: pizza
- Region
- USA
- Use case
- Menu innovation and marketing with Tastewise AI Panels
A GLP-1 / high-protein AI panel led Donatos to add a grilled-chicken salad and lean into high-protein menu hacks. Tastewise consumer findings also shaped how it markets its fresh-buttermilk, house-made ranch.
In place of slow fieldwork, the team ran a 20-question Tastewise AI Panel with 1,000 consumers, and had answers in days, not weeks.
Challenges
Slow, expensive research
Traditional menu innovation research was slow and expensive.
A bet that needed proof
A GLP-1 / high-protein menu bet needed proof of real consumer demand before building.
Claims to validate
Marketing needed to know which claims land, and whether consumers would pay more for house-made.
Tastewise’s solution
Synthetic consumer studies
AI Panels run synthetic consumer studies, like a 20-question GLP-1 / high-protein panel, in place of slow fieldwork.
Quick quickers
1,000 consumers answered all 20 questions in days, not weeks.
Results
A new grilled-chicken salad and a bigger high-protein push
Donatos added a new grilled-chicken salad built for the protein seeking consumer started actively promoting high-protein menu hacks.
House-made ranch, launched with full media
Donatos launched its fresh-buttermilk, house-made ranch with full media, leaning the marketing into the ‘fresh’ angle that consumer findings surfaced.
| Challenges | to | Solutions |
|---|---|---|
| Menu innovation research was slow and expensive | A 20-question AI Panel with 1,000 consumers, answered in a fraction of the typical time | |
| A high-protein bet needed proof of real demand | A new grilled-chicken salad, built for the high-protein consumer the panel identified | |
| Marketing needed to know which claims land | House-made ranch launched with full media, leaning into ‘fresh’ |
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